


Wednesday Evenings

by OhNoMyBreadsticks



Series: Bready Fills Prompts [1]
Category: Detroit: Become Human (Video Game)
Genre: Anti-Android Language (Detroit: Become Human), Anti-Android Sentiments (Detroit: Become Human), Canon-Typical Behavior, Friendship, Gavin Reed Redemption, Gen, M/M, a bunch of shitty ocs I made up, reed900 if you want
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-04
Updated: 2019-07-04
Packaged: 2020-06-03 18:03:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,365
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19469254
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/OhNoMyBreadsticks/pseuds/OhNoMyBreadsticks
Summary: Wednesdays had always been for drinking with the guys. But does Gavin still fit in with the same group post-revolution?





	Wednesday Evenings

**Author's Note:**

> This was a prompt fill for anon on tumblr who asked for "Gavin realises he's been hanging out with the wrong crowd of android haters. He doesn't dislike androids but to fit in with the crowd he went along with it. Now, he wants to apologise to Nines and make amends."
> 
> I love me some Gavin Reed redemption, so this was a lovely prompt to work on C:

Wednesdays were for drinking with the guys. They had been since Gavin’s academy days, to the point where weeks when he couldn’t attend felt weird and uneven. His colleagues at work may have been surprised to learn that Gavin had such a long-standing social circle, but he was a surprisingly social guy. Well, with the right sort of people. The group he had fallen into at the academy was full of men who didn’t tiptoe around issues. If they had something to say, they said it loudly, and Gavin appreciated that sort of brash attitude. It was easy, speaking his mind in this crowd, and God knew he had very little ability to filter his thoughts or his actions. Arriving at the shitty dive they had been going to for years, he was greeted with pats on the back, and a beer was pressed into his waiting hand.

“So Gav, how’s life with the plastic prick? You still keepin’ it in its place?”

Oh yeah, another reason Gavin had stuck with this group for so long was that they all shared his views on androids. And, like anything, they shared his views rather vocally. Up until the revolution, this particular bar had been sporting the tell-tale signage reminding patrons not to bring their property with them into the establishment. It had been taken down, of course, but this wasn’t exactly the kind of place that androids were likely to feel welcome in, anyways. Which suited the patrons who had come back after the evacuation just fine.

“Oh yeah, yeah, damn thing still follows me around, but I don’t take any shit.” Gavin replied with a laugh, shooting Monty an easy grin. They had always talked like this, the words practically fell off his tongue, even before the alcohol had a chance to loosen it. With the topic brought up, more of the men around the table began to complain about androids they had to deal with in their career or private life. Tony’s daughter had joined the protests for android rights, Frank’s office was flooding with new hires still ‘fresh off the assembly line’ as he put it, and Carter worked city planning for the area around New Jericho.

The same sentiment echoed back and forth across the table, each man bemoaning his fate of having to deal with the ‘damn plastics’. They’d never be people, it just wasn’t right that good jobs were being taken away from hard-working Americans, they couldn’t really be trusted anyways… Frank got so worked up he slammed his glass down on the bar and startled Gavin, growling out something about not voting for any more presidents who would be pushed around by fakes like this. And the circle agreed, all nodding sagely and shooting each other looks as if to revel in the confirmation.

Gavin wondered suddenly when this weird tightness in his chest had started. He was nursing his beer and drifting off into thought as the familiar reassuring words washed over him. Yeah, he  _ was _ better than those fuckin’ plastics. His old gripes about being replaced at work by ‘something that can’t even feel’ would have been welcomed at this point. But…why did the words seem to stick in his throat? Briefly, he wondered if that heartburn his doctor was always warning him about had crept up suddenly. Taking another swig of his beer in the hopes that that would make things clearer (it never did), Gavin considered when the use of the word ‘it’ to describe androids had started to make him want to itch out of his own skin.

Maybe it was when Nines first approached Gavin for help, LED whirring nervously as he admitted his preconstruction software maybe wasn’t as helpful as a good old ‘gut instinct’ on this case. Or maybe he had lost his taste for it watching Nines carefully smooth the useless stress blanket around the shoulders of a shaking android, still disoriented from the beating they had gotten while trying to, god who remembered any more, walk in the park or something. Gavin had always accused Nines of being an unfeeling robot, but in that moment he had been able to show more human kindness to the victim of a senseless crime than Gavin would ever have been able to.

A sudden good-natured jab in the ribs brought Gavin back to himself. He glanced over and found the table watching him expectantly. When he didn’t reply, Tony repeated himself, “I  _ said _ , your folks over at the DPD are holding the line, right? Making sure these things don’t get out of control?” The easy answer, which would usually have been burning up his throat to spit off his lips, just wouldn’t come to his mind. Instead Gavin simply raised his glass and said dully “Just doing my job.” The other men chuckled and took that however they wanted, as the evening sauntered on.

The tightness in his chest didn’t fade for the next few days, and Gavin found himself unsettled and off-balance at work. Every time he looked at Nines, he wondered what his partner thought of him. Certainly nothing good, given their rocky relationship at the beginning of working together. And yet…he still brought Gavin coffee in the afternoons when he clearly wasn’t feeling well, and walked out to his car in the evenings when their shifts ended at the same time. Not the actions of someone who hated their partner outright on a basic fundamental level.

Was that even how Gavin felt any more? Thinking about it now, maybe ‘saying whatever you wanted, and saying it loudly’, wasn’t how you went about making things any better. Not to mention, the things his drinking buddies always had to say were inevitably negative in some way. Gavin wasn’t one for introspection and personal growth, but even he had to admit that you couldn’t just keep going forward the same way they always had after what Jericho had done. After what they had all seen.

It was a Wednesday morning when Gavin found himself nervously leaning on Nines’ desk, waiting for him to arrive. The android was always punctual, and 8:15 found him stepping briskly up to his workstation. Gavin’s presence seemed to throw him off, a surprised look flashing over his face for just a moment before he adjusted. “Can I help you, detective? I don’t believe our first briefing is any earlier than ten.” Gavin shook his head, using what was left of his mustered courage to stick his hand out, offering it for a shake.

“I never introduced myself. Properly.” Gavin muttered, thankful for once that Nines’ hearing was insanely sensitive, “You deserved better than a bunch of slurs when you first joined up here.” Nines stared at him curiously, just for a moment, before reaching out and taking the extended hand. His grip was firm and his skin was warm, just like anyone else. “Gavin Reed. I’m your new partner.” Gavin said, aware that this was possibly the cheesiest thing he had ever done. He just had to hope that Nines wouldn’t hate him even more than he already should.

Instead, much to Gavin’s relief, a tiny hint of a smile spread across Nines’ lips. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Detective Reed. I’m RK900, but you can call me Nines.” There was a pause, then in a softer voice he added “I would like it very much if you called me Nines.” Gavin let out a deep breath, shooting Nines an apologetic look he knew wasn’t enough to make up for all the toaster and tin can jokes. But it was a start. So was asking “Can I…take you out for a drink or whatever tonight? To celebrate the new partnership and all.”

“But today is a Wednesday.” Nines countered, confusion now wrinkling his brow, “I was led to believe you have a standing engagement tonight.”

Gavin simply shrugged, admitting “I think I’m going to have a lot more free time on Wednesday evenings from now on.”

The smile on Nines’ face growing slightly wider finally lifted some of that tension in Gavin’s chest. He could work with this. He could get better.

**Author's Note:**

> blah blah dabid cabbage will one day answer to me for his crimes blah blah
> 
> Thanks for reading, I appreciate and love any support in the kudos or comment boxes <3
> 
> Come hang out with me on [tumblr](https://ohnomybreadsticks.tumblr.com/) if you'd like to chat or see lil updates!


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